Nathan Alterman, 60, noted poet, writer and chronicler of the Israeli independence struggle, died here Saturday from a heart attack following an operation, Mr. Alterman, the spearhead of avant-garde Hebrew poetry, wrote of the development of Israel during the British Mandate and spoke out against all forms of corruption in the Jewish State. Born in Warsaw but an early emigrant to what is now Israel, Mr. Alterman wrote a weekly column for Davar, and earlier for Haaretz, and was the author and translator of many plays. He was active in politics as polemicist and as an advisor the leftist youth.